Differential moisture sensitivity in the life cycle of selected vegetable crop

Abstract

Irrigation is potentially one of the most important tools of the agricultural producer in increasing crop production in many parts of the world. In an area like Saskatchewan, the production of crops important to the horticulturist can be expected to attain significant economic importance only with the use of supplementary water. The forthcoming opening of tens of thousands of acres of irrigable land in the South Saskatchewan and other dam projects will, in all probability, bring about an expansion in the largescale production of the high-cash crops on the Canadian prairies. While the mechanics of irrigating field crops formulate a well-developed science, much is still to be learned about the improvement of irrigation efficiency via a thorough understanding of how much water the plant needs for maximal yields of the desired plant part and when it needs that water. It has been with the goal of accurate timing of water applications via clarification of previously reported results on moisture-sensitive periods in the plant-life cycle that the research described herein was carried out at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon.